Impact testimonies- Lombani Kelvin Kalua

My name is Lombani Kelvin Kalua, I am 30 years old, a certified compassionate and hard-working Nurse Midwife and Public Health practitioner from Malawi. I was born into a humble home, and from a young age, I dreamed not of wealth, but of making people well. That dream took me to Ekwendeni College of Health Sciences, where I trained as a Nurse Midwife. It was there that I discovered not just a career but a calling. I studied relentlessly. Not to simply pass exams, but because I wanted to be the best at what nurses are supposed to do: care, comfort, and fight for life. I graduated with motive and heart. I knew I belonged on the frontlines.

That calling led me to Partners In Hope, under the USAID-funded CORE Project, where I served with my whole being. I worked in the dusty rural corners of Chikwawa (Southern Malawi Distrct) and beyond, battling HIV/AIDS, TB, and Cervical Cancer among the most vulnerable. My job wasn’t a 7-to-5. It was sun-up to sun-down, often with no breaks, no lunch, just the desperate cry of a patient who needed me and I showed up. Every single time.

There was a 9 months old girl who arrived at our facility with her mother critically ill diagnosed with HIV, Tuberculosis, and Severe Acute Malnutrition. Her life was hanging by a thread. I made her my mission. I monitored her closely, counselled her caregivers, followed up at home, and ensured proper treatment. Slowly, the miracle unfolded. The malnutrition reversed. She completed TB treatment. Her HIV viral load became suppressed. Today, she is 3 years old, full of life. That child is one of my greatest joys.

There was also a teenage boy whose HIV viral load never suppressed. I selected him for Camp Hope Malawi in August 2024, believing he just needed one more chance. After the camp, I personally mentored him, checking on him regularly. Right before my contract ended, his viral load finally became undetectable. But now, I don’t know how he’s doing. And it breaks me every time I think about him.

But one morning while at work, everything fell apart.

I received a short message: “Due to USAID cuts following the Trump administration’s policy changes, your contract has been terminated.”
No transition. No warning. No support. Just… silence.

In that moment, I lost more than a job. I lost my purpose, my stability, my identity. From earning MWK 1,350,000 per month (~USD $800), I now barely survive on MK 5,000 per month (USD $2). I was forced to move back in with my aging, retired parents both in their 70s who now watch their once-independent son return, defeated and ashamed. I can no longer pay school fees for my child or college fees for my nephew who’s in his first year of Clinical Medicine. My wife and child had to move in with her parents because I cannot afford food or rent. Five months down the line, I am still jobless.

I am drowning in financial debt. Debts to banks and some peopkle. Debts to friends I once helped. I walk the streets hoping for an opportunity, any opportunity. But it never comes. The psychological pain is unbearable. There are nights I go to bed without eating. There are days I ask myself if I failed, or if the world failed me.

And yet, I still dream.

I dream of wearing my uniform again. Of holding a malnourished child and knowing what to do. Of helping another HIV-positive adolescent believe in life again. I dream of doing what I was born to do; heal, serve, and give hope. I know I changed lives. I know I still can. My work saved women, men, children, and entire communities.

Please, don’t let my candle go out completely. I am not asking for pity. I am asking for a chance to return to the work I gave my life to. I believe that with the right support, I can continue being a light in hospitals, in villages, in forgotten corners of Malawi.

If you’re reading this and your heart is moved, please reach out. Help me rise again. Help me help others again.

Lombani Kelvin Kalua

Email: [email protected]

Contact: +265882518750